What additives are used in fracking?
Hydraulic fracturing fluids: A wide variety of chemical additives are used in hydraulic fracturing fluids. They include: dilute acids, biocides, breakers, corrosion inhibitors, crosslinkers, friction reducers, gels, potassium chloride, oxygen scavengers, pH adjusting agents, scale inhibitors, and surfactants.
What is the purpose of the fracturing fluid?
2 Fracturing Fluid and Proppant. Fracturing fluids are additives or chemicals that are used to treat the subsurface formation in order to stimulate the flow of oil or gas.
Is naphthalene used in fracking?
Exposure to VERY LARGE AMOUNTS of naphthalene can be dangerous, but exceedingly small amounts are included in fracking fluid. Naphthalene is used as carrier fluid for the active surfactant ingredients of fracking fluid.
What is the pH of the fracturing fluid?
Recent studies show that only minimal formation permeability damage is induced by fracturing fluids permeability damage is induced by fracturing fluids with pH ranging from 4.7 to 11.5. The studies also indicate that optimum fluid pH range is seven to nine, where no appreciable damage occurs.
What type of acid is used in fracking?
hydrochloric acid
The answer: hydrochloric acid plays a key role in the hydraulic fracturing process. After the natural gas well’s hole is bored, drillers will pump thousands of gallons of water mixed with acid down into the well.
Why are proppants used?
Proppant is used to keep the fractures open after the frac job is complete. Proppant provides a high-conductivity pathway for hydrocarbons to flow from the reservoir to the well. After the frac job is completed, proppant prevents the fractures from closing due to overburden pressure.
What are the components of fracking fluid?
Fracking fluid is 99.5% water and sand. 0.5% is made up of safe chemical additives, most of which are found in common household products, like toothpaste and makeup remover, or in the foods you eat.
What household items contain hydrofluoric acid?
Hydrofluoric acid is used in a variety of over-the-counter products such as toilet bowl cleaners, concrete cleaners, and metal polishes.
What is slick water?
Slickwater or slick water fracturing is a method or system of hydro-fracturing which involves adding chemicals to water to increase the fluid flow. Fluid can be pumped down the well-bore as fast as 100 bbl/min. to fracture the shale. Biocides, surfactants and scale inhibitors can also be in the fluid.
What are the types of fracking?
Most fracking wells in use today rely on two technologies: hydraulic fracturing, which has been in use since the 1940s, and horizontal drilling, a technique that first became widespread in the 1990s, according to Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
What are the permitted additives for hydraulic fracturing fluid?
The permitted additives for hydraulic fracturing fluid include polycrylamide, hydrochloric acid and a biocide .
What are the fracturing fluids used for gas shale stimulations?
The fracturing fluids used for gas shale stimulations consist primarily of water but also include a variety of additives. The number of chemical additives used in a typical fracture treatment varies depending on the conditions of the specific well being fractured.
Why did Halliburton develop food additive hydraulic fracturing?
In 2010, Halliburton announced the creation of food additive based hydraulic fracturing fluid in response to calls for transparency and demand for a “more environmentally friendly” unconventional hydrocarbon production. In Europe, Poland, Norway and Germany have the largest reserves of shale gas, and drillings are underway.
What is slickwater used for in fracking?
Friction Reducing (Slickwater) Additives. The predominant fluids currently being used for fracture treatments in the gas shale plays are water-based fracturing fluids mixed with friction-reducing additives (called slickwater) [3].